Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, however, said she was talking about what institutions for the mentally ill used to be called.

The Ethics complaint, filed Friday by Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, alleges that Hoffman â€œmisled the public by writing and publishing a statement which falsely describes Senator Goodwin as personally using derogatory labels for those with mental illnesses.â€ Rest said that violates Senate ethics rules.

“On Wednesday, May 18, Sen. Barb Goodwin referred to people with mental illnesses as idiots and imbeciles in the Minnesota State Senate floor,â€ Hoffman said in a statement. â€œAs a registered nurse who has worked with patients with mental illnesses for many years, I was offended by her remarks.

â€œI shared Senator Goodwinâ€™s remarks with my Twitter followers. Until the Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct completes their work, I have no further comment.â€

Â Cheese burger success

Rep. Dean Urdahl won his cheeseburger bill vote in the House Friday, with a 76-56 tally, restricting lawsuits by people blaming food and drink for getting fat.

The Grove City Republican has sponsored the bill for years, but never got it signed into law.

Â GOP attacks

Republicans are attacking the Capitol press corps for presenting a biased view of the on-going budget battle.

â€œThe media will most likely incorrectly report that the GOP has been unwilling to compromise with the governorâ€™s budgetary requests,â€ Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, wrote in his weekly newsletter. â€œHowever, the Legislature has already compromised with the governor in formulating its $34 billion budget from the beginning and not starting low only to negotiate upwards.â€

In what he called a â€œpersonal note to the Capitol press corps,â€ GOP Chairman Tony Sutton agreed with Newmanâ€™s assessment.

â€œThe media bias I see, which is a common perception, is the belief that compromise is ALWAYS a good thing, that the best solution is ALWAYS somewhere in the middle and that compromise is ALWAYS a win for the people of Minnesota,â€ Sutton said. â€œThat is far from ALWAYS the case.â€

â€œI think the media is missing out on a more thoughtful and more interesting perspective of more service to readers and viewers: Does compromise necessarily yield a better solution?â€ Sutton said.